noun clauses!

Question

OK,thank you for helping me yesterday, I have finished reading about noun clauses but it has prompted a lot of questions (the more i read, the more questions i seem to have).... just quickly

- can the noun clause function as the object of a sentence, i think it can and that if you move it to the end of the sentence it then becomes the object?

- are all noun clauses at the beginning of a sentence the subject of the sentence, if not can someone give me an example!

thank you

GPY · Accepted Answer

What I haven't seen with my own eyes, I won't believe.

Johnbythesea · Answer

sorry, which one of my questions does this answer?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

johnbytheseasorry, which one of my questions does this answer?

- are all noun clauses at the beginning of a sentence the subject of the sentence, if not can someone give me an example!

GPY gave you a sentence with a noun clause that starts a sentence and is NOT its subject.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

johnbythesea- can a noun clause function as the object of a sentence?

Yes, that is very common.

He asked me if I was going, but I had told him yesterday that I was going, so I don't understand why he asked me.

Johnbythesea · Answer

cool, thank you!

BillJ · Answer

johnbythesea OK,thank you for helping me yesterday, I have finished reading about noun clauses but it has prompted a lot of questions (the more i read, the more questions i seem to have).... just quickly- can the noun clause function as the object of a sentence, i think it can and that if you move it to the end of the sentence it then becomes the object?- are all noun clauses at the beginning of a sentence the subject of the sentence, if not can someone give me an example!thank you

If by 'noun clause', you mean a that- clause, then no: objects are typically noun phrases, not clauses. If the that- clause follows the verb, as in "I know that you were drunk", the clause is a complement of the verb "know", but it's not an object.

But that-clauses can certainly function as subject, as well as having several other complement roles, for example:

"That they were cheating is obvious". (subject)
"The possibility that he was honest never occurred to me". (complement of noun)
"I'm determined that I will get that promotion". (complement of adjective)
"I'll go provided that Kim is not there". (complement of preposition)

BillJ

CalifJim · Answer

BillJIf by 'noun clause', you mean a that- clause

From previous posts by this forum member, I've gathered that he means mostly clauses that start with who, whom, what, where, when, and how, e.g., How you do it is not important. Where you go on vacation says something about your personality. ... Sentences like that.

CJ

noun clauses!

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